DISCLAIMER: I'm broke, didn't you hear? No es mio.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, all! I'm back. Finally. I'm glad you guys liked the Wedding. I really wasn't sure about that. Big hurdle. Weddings are new territory for me, so.yeah. Anyway, I wrote this chapter ages ago, but wouldn't you know, I lost most of it? I think the original was better, but.oh well, too bad. Tell me what you think, 'kay? I live for feedback.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The moon shone brightly in the sky, its cool yellow rays lighting up the desert sands. Below a pointed rock formation, a party raged on. Music wafted in the breeze as the people celebrated the marriage of two friends, the return of six friends and the addition of two others.
Near the base of the cliff in which the aliens were born, food was displayed on a table made of rock, thanks to a little Czech magic. Michael wrapped his arms around his love and stared out at the happy forms of his mingling friends. They were all relaxed, enjoying the night and ignoring its secrets.
"It's beautiful," she stated. Michael looked down at her. "We should cherish this moment."
He nodded. He felt it, too. The feeling that this would be the last time they were all together. A tiny sense of foreboding that kept dancing in the back of his brain. He tilted her head up and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
Suddenly, a white blast appeared above their heads, breaking pieces of rock from the outcrop and showering them with pebbles. All the dancing stopped, the happy faces dropped and the relaxed postures disintegrated.
"Well isn't this nice!" a voice yelled from above. Standing there, above their heads, stood a boy. His face was twisted in a sarcastic smile that served only to reveal his plan for attack. His cold eyes scanned the group. Some teenagers, some adults, some aliens, some monsters, some human, some supernatural. All a small threat.
"You didn't even invite me to your little party. I'm hurt, really." He bowed his head in mock offence. "So, Rath, you gonna steal his wife too?"
Everyone turned to Rath in astonishment. He was still glaring at Nicholas. They looked between the two in confusion. Nicholas smirked. Just the reaction he wanted.
"What? You didn't tell them what you did to me? How this is mostly your fault?"
"Rath?" Faith said, looking between him and the runt.
"I didn't steal her, Nikaid, she left on her own! It is not my fault!" he yelled.
"Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that. It might be true someday," he replied sarcastically. He looked around at everyone else. "Oh. All your little friends feel out of the loop. Don't worry, I'll give the whole story." Rath clenched his fists. "You see, kiddies, way back when, Uncle Nicholas had a girlfriend and he loved her very much." He stopped suddenly and pointed a gun at Faith. "Tell them what her name was!"
"Kaylanna," he ground out, glaring at the gloating boy.
"Very good. At least he remembers her name," he sneered, "Now, Nikaid was ready to propose to this girl. He could see the wedding in his head. His brother and sister would stand beside him as his future sister-in-law walked down the aisle with her best friend.who's that Rath? Want to fill in the faces?"
"Cortenia and I."
"My aren't we a good guesser."
"Who are these people, Rath?" asked Zan. Rath sighed. They didn't need to know this.
"Cortenia was my best friend on Antar.ever since we were thirteen," he said, "Her twin sister was Kaylanna. She had a raging crush on me."
"Bingo! Though you might know her as the ever defiant Courtney," Nicholas stated, "But that's beside the point. Can we all guess why Nikaid's, my, vision never materialised?"
"She was in love with Rath," Maria said.
"Ding ding! Give the girl a prize! Now! Can we guess the brother and sister? Hmm?" He looked at the blank faces. "Nobody?" he taunted. "Okay, well, some of you have already met my brother, Cazrileen. Riley for short." Riley stepped out from behind a rock, gun in hand.
"Hey, Buffy. Miss me?" he asked. "Faith."
"Fish boy," she sneered. There was a loud blast right near her feet and she jumped back.
"Do not speak to my brother like that."
They turned to find Fred with a gun trained on Faith.
Nicholas smirked. "My sister, Feraahna. Mindwarp is such a funny thing. You didn't even notice the smell," he said, gesturing to the vampires. "Pity."
Lonnie came up from behind Nicholas and smiled evilly at them.
"Hey lover. Still with that tramp, huh?" she sneered. Rath was seething. His hand started to glow red. "Say bye-bye 'cause dat ho is dead," she spat, pointing her gun at Faith and pulling the trigger in one fluid movement. On reflex, Faith raised her hand and deflected the beam. It hit Nicholas square in the chest. He flew back and hit the boulder, cracking it, before sliding to the ground.
Fred screeched and went to shoot Faith. Buffy spun around and kicked her in the head, making her drop the gun. Fred blocked a punch from Buffy and kicked her in the stomach. Then, she did a spin kick and sent Buffy flying. Fred put two fingers between her lips and whistled.
Suddenly, a whole army appeared on all sides of them. They were surrounded.
"Look familiar, Rath?" Riley taunted, "Ready to burn again?"
"You!" Rath growled.
"Yep. I lit the fire. It was fun to watch you burn, general. Love how you damned your people."
"Don't even bother to ask. Of course I started the whole evil witch thing," Fred said nonchalantly, "Really, we weren't expecting that, but it worked out for the best now didn't it?"
While they talked, the army began to close in on them. Maria looked left and right, counting the numbers. There were about a hundred soldiers. All armed with laser guns. Really, really bad odds.
'What are we going to do? They have guns and they outnumber us and they have powers. We're gonna die!'
'We won't die, Maria,' Michael reassured her.
'Do you have a plan? 'Course not. What am I saying? You're Michael, of course you don't have a plan!'
Michael grabbed Maria's hand and squeezed it. 'We brought weapons, remember?' Maria sighed and nodded her head. 'Okay, we'll slowly back to the table so they don't notice.'
Together, they inched towards the table. Maria pulled off the tablecloth to reveal a chest full of weapons. They threw it open and drew their swords.
"Old fashioned, isn't it, Rath?" a voice said from the cliff. They turned away from the army to the man that stood tall on the cliff. Serena gasped. "I want the Royal Four to hand themselves over."
"Never! Not without a fight!" Rath growled.
"Really?" Khivar said smugly. "Not even for mommy and daddy?" With that, he gestured behind him. Four soldiers appeared at his side, dragging a bound and gagged Jim and Amy Valenti, and Philip and Diane Evans. Rath and Michael growled under their breaths. Nobody touched their family.
"I knew that would get to you," Khivar stated. He grabbed the nearest human, who just happened to be Amy and pulled her against his body. He pulled out a knife and dragged the edge down her cheek. She was shaking in fear. The group tensed as a trickle of blood escaped her. Khivar removed her gag and then shoved her to her knees at the edge of the cliff. Jim Valenti struggled against his guard to get to his wife. Khivar turned and punched him in the gut. He then turned back to Amy and snapped her head back by her dark brown locks.
"Such a pretty face," her murmured. His tongue snaked out of his mouth as he traced the thin line of blood with the tip. "I want the Royal four. All of them. You will be executed and the throne will be entirely mine. Antar will have no hope."
"You're crazy!" Amy shouted at him. He slapped her in the face.
"Quiet wench!" he screamed, "You know, I knew a woman like you. Mouth too big for her body. I got rid of her and her little weasel son, too. I should do just the same to you." He ran his hand down her body. "After I have a little fun, of course." He turned her head towards Valenti. "Maybe in front of old Jimmy here." He twisted her head toward Maria. "Or maybe your daughter would like a show." Maria's fists clenched at her sides. "That'll be for later, though." He flung her back and glared at them once more. "Well? Your parents or yourselves?"
"Can you make a shield?" Michael asked Willow, still staring up at Khivar.
"Yeah."
In response, Michael took quick aim and fired an energy blast at Khivar. He put up a bright green shield much like Max's. Khivar scowled.
"Very well." Khivar made eye contact with the head of his army. The soldier nodded and the army began to fire at will. Willow quickly raised her hands, eyes turning black, and the air rippled around them. The laser beams bounced off of Willow's invisible shield, taking out the entire front line. The soldiers moved back before firing again. The lasers had no effect. After a while the army stopped shooting, stumped. One of the braver men walked forwards and touched the air in front of the group. It was solid. He looked up at his leader.
"Sire?"
Khivar growled in frustrated. "Keep shooting. They have to weaken sometime."
The army resumed firing at the invisible wall.
Maria looked up as she heard a scream from the top of the cliff. She would never figure out how she heard it above all the gunfire. She ran over to Willow.
"You have to make an opening. Let me out," she said, hurriedly.
"Are you crazy? You'll get killed!" cried Dawn, who was standing nearby.
"I have to! It's my mom up there. I can't let anything happen to her. Especially not by Khivar."
"Well, pretty soon you won't have to worry about that," Willow panted, sweat dripping down her face. Just then, there was a cry of pain as Wesley got shot in the leg.
"Okay, Maxwell, go heal Wesley and for Christ sake stay in the middle of the group. Khivar can't get to you, it's all over if he does," Michael ordered. "That goes for you too, Zan. Go lend Willow some energy or something." The two Antarian kings nodded and went off to do their jobs. Zan put his hands on Willow's shoulder and concentrated on transferring his energy into her. The air around them rippled as the shield strengthened.
"We can't just stand here all night." Rath exclaimed. "Willow, can we shoot them from the inside?
"I.I don't know," she said, "Try it."
Rath raised his hand and pointed it at the army outside. He released his energy on them, bracing himself for a possible backfire. Four soldiers exploded into a pile of dust. Seeing results, all the other aliens joined in.
"Guys! I can't hold it anymore!" Willow cried seconds before the shield collapsed.
As if in a trance, Alex, Isabel, Rath and Faith raised their hands, palm-to- palm, and stared straight ahead. The air around them swirled in a thick white cloud until it finally settled as a solid white bubble. The protectors levitated to the top of the bubble as it solidified. Suddenly, their heads snapped up in unison and, with a shriek, a red beam of light shot out of their heads.
Outside, Khivar's army stared in shock as a red light seeped out of the circle, spreading across the desert air. The light melted their guns as it passed, expanding to about a half-mile radius, before being sucked back into the bubble.
Slowly, the protectors drifted to the ground, coming out of their joint trance. The shield slowly disintegrated.
"Whoa," Kyle said, picking up an axe. "Let's do this."
The gang quickly picked their jaws up from the ground and grabbed their swords, and thus, the war began.
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Oz fought viciously, protecting his girlfriend with all he had. He was a bit rusty, but once he got into it, it was like old times with the Scooby gang, battling in the cemeteries of Sunnydale.
"Serena, snap out of it!" he exclaimed. She was still staring at the cliff blankly, her mouth hanging open. She didn't seem to even notice the fighting around her, or the number of soldiers that had tried to attack her. She was still living in the shock. Khivar was.
"Serena!" Oz's voice pulled her out of her trance. "Take this." He handed her his sword. She stared at it, confused.
"Huh? Wait! Danny! What will you use?" She got her answer when a thick layer of fur covered his body and he dropped down on all fours, a growling ball of teeth. She watched in horror as he pounced on the nearest group of soldiers, ripping them nearly to shreds. Oz had left the building. She spun around and sliced the head off the big man that tried to sneak up on her. No time to think about it now. Fight.
Spike did his best to defend himself, leading the soldiers to people who could actually fight back. He growled as he got kicked in the balls. That was it. He lashed out, changing into his game face, snatching a weapon off somebody and slicing off that bastard's head. He braced himself for a wave of pain that never came.
"Hold on." He punched somebody in the face. "I can hit these." He put the man out of his misery and sliced him down the middle. He exploded in a cloud of dust. "The Big Bad is back!"
The stronger fighters fought alone or in pairs, while the weaker set stayed together in groups of three or four. Connor fought with Angel for a while, their natural father/son synchronisation coming in to play.well, natural to them, anyway. It was probably a vampire thing. They knew each other's moves and fought accordingly, together forming an unstoppable duo. A team that Angel had always pictured when he thought of his son. There was never any sense in pretending that he could keep Connor away from violence. It was in his blood and he'd accepted that, even since he was a baby. The fight was getting harder. Some of the soldiers had started converting their melted guns into swords with their powers, and the rest were following suit. It took away their slight advantage. But still, the gang was more practiced than they were, having always depended on archaic weapons. The army was gun- spoiled and unaccustomed to hand-to-hand combat. That was their Achilles heel and the gang was not afraid to use it.
Maria armed herself with a crossbow and ran up the side of the cliff, killing any soldiers that stood guard. As she neared the top, she slowed down. Being as quiet as she could, she watched.
"Impertinent brats!" Khivar yelled. His hand shot out, blasting a rock into minute grains of sand. He walked over to Amy and yanked her up by the hair. "You! These are yours! I'll make you watch as I kill them."
"They're not all mine."
"I don't care! You'll all watch. I'll tear your little Maria apart limb by limb, cell by cell, and make sure she feels every minute of it. I think I'll tape it, too. Should make for a good movie," he said coldly, "Think the commander will enjoy it?" He looked over to the Evanses. "And Zan.I have special plans for him. The both of them. And don't worry. You won't miss out on the show."
Maria watched in disgust as he rambled on. Staring straight at his heart, she raised her cross bow. Aimed.
Then all went black.
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Maria groaned in pain as she slowly regained consciousness. It was dark. She opened her eyes, but quickly shut them as the light penetrated them, making her headache worse. She tried to rub her head, but nothing happened. She couldn't move. Her hands were tied around a pole behind her back. She could hear voices. Khivar. Braving the pain, she slowly opened her eyes. All she could see was blurred figures. A brown one was walking around, blurry sticks, that she figured were his arms, flailing around. The blur suddenly stopped. She closed her eyes, pretending to still be unconscious.
"It wakes," the voice sneered in a low voice. It sounded like it was right in front of her face. She opened her eyes, blinking to clear her vision. "Have a nice nap?" She could finally see him.and he was smiling. The coldness of his piercing, grey eyes took away any notions of it being friendly. "How nice of you to join us." He pulled out her crossbow, making a big show of examining it. "Nice weapon. Bit archaic but." He shrugged, and then trained it on her. "I take it you're here to hand over the Royal Four."
"Never!"
"It doesn't matter. My army will defeat your little group and bring them back to me."
"Your army is already defeated."
Khivar scowled at her, then walked over to the edge of the cliff. She was right. The small group of twenty something was making good headway through his army of a hundred with practically no casualties. Half of his army was already dead. He growled in anger.
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Michael suddenly stopped fighting as he felt something through his connection with Maria. It was.love. She was sending all her love to him in waves, as if this would be the last time she sent it. It felt like she was saying a goodbye. A soldier took advantage of his distraction by pilfering his sword and pouncing. To his surprise, the sword stopped midair. He didn't have time to think about it before he exploded into a cloud of dust.
********************************* ********************************
"It's over, Khivar. Or is it Kyden?" Maria taunted. She smiled at the shocked look on his face. Just the reaction she was looking for. "We know who you really are, Khivar, a bitter, pathetic little boy who was passed over for the throne by his big sister. You couldn't handle that, could you? The fact that she was better than you?"
"Silence!"
Maria went on as if he hadn't said anything. "No. They should have seen that she was incompetent and dethroned her, giving you control of the whole planet. But you accepted it for a while. All you would have to do is wait until you're old enough to be able to rule without an advisor and then you could kill her off and take over." Khivar was fuming. The crossbow in his hands shook as rage coursed through his veins. Maria hid a smile. She was getting to him. Good. "But that plan got tossed out the window when Deimon was born. Even if you killed her, that little baby would bypass you and take over the throne, and you would still have nothing, not to mention that if you killed the both of them as Kyden, the public wouldn't accept you. So you created your alter ego, Khivar. Am getting close?"
******************************* *****************************
Michael sprinted towards the cliff, flinging soldiers aside left and right as he passed. He was halfway up the cliff when his path was blocked by two people he never thought he'd ever see again, Tess and Lonnie.
"Move," he growled.
"Aw, is that anyway to treat your sister?" Tess said.
"You're not my sister. You were never my sister."
"Yeah, well, not technically, but we were close, right? Remember that summer when we worked on your powers?"
"Old news, now move."
"You can't win," Lonnie said. "Khivar is the rightful."
Lonnie was cut off as both she and Tess were flung to the side and Michael continued his sprint to the top of the cliff.
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"How do you think your faction will react when they find out that their leader is nothing but a snivelling, whiny, spoiled royal brat, jealous of his big sister and nephew?"
"It doesn't matter now, they're dead, have been for years. I'm the last in the royal line. The throne of Carnath is rightfully mine no matter what you tell them. Antar is just icing on the cake. I don't even need that pathetic waste of planet space, I only want the granolith."
"You have it! Tess handed it to you on a silver platter."
"Yeah, well. This is more fun."
"You know, he's still alive." Khivar raised an eyebrow at her. "Deimon. He's still alive."
"You lie! He's dead!"
"He's not. His ship crashed on Antar. The Queen adopted him. You might know him better as Rath."
"You lie!" Khivar growled.
"I do not!"
Khivar's hands started to glow a bright red as his fists clenched with rage. He raised his hands, levitating Maria high above his head. Without a word, he raised her crossbow and shot her in the heart. He cackled as her petit form hung lifelessly in the dead air. Suddenly, he felt his body slam into a boulder, and the sickening crack of his bones colliding with the hard rock.
Michael watched as his love dropped from fifty feet in the air, a sickening thump resounding through the air as her dead body crashed to the ground.
"NOOOO!!!!"
Not giving Khivar a second thought, Michael ran over to Maria. "You're fine.you're not dead.just resting." he muttered, tears coursing down his cheeks as he shakily undid the ropes that bound her to the pole. "Maria?" He shook her gently. No response. "Maria?" Cradling her head in his lap, he rocked back and forth, calling her name in broken sobs.
********************************* ******************************
Arching his sword through the air, Rath sliced the head off the final soldier. Looking around, he saw everyone hunched over, panting in exhaustion. Serena was bent over a creature that he could only assume was Oz, running her hands through a thick layer of fur. It was surprising that a werewolf that he had seen rip at least twenty soldiers into tiny pieces, could be rubbing up on the small brunette, practically purring like a cat. He'd always thought werewolves were dog creatures.
This was by far the worst battle they'd ever fought and the victory was sweet.wait, the group looked smaller than usual.
That's when they heard it: an animalistic scream, heavy in pain and grief, coming from the cliff. The Scooby Gang looked at each other before breaking out into a sprint in the direction of the cry. They leaped over dead soldier bodies and fallen weapons, and ran straight past the unconscious bodies of Lonnie and Tess.
****************************** **************************** "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
Khivar groaned as the screeching sound reached the ears of his battered body. Looking over at the hybrid body of Rath, of Michael, shaking with sobs and cradling the human's head in his lap, he smiled. He may not have won yet, but he still left an impression. Deimon. His nephew. His sister's son. That whiny snivelling brat was always a thorn in his side. He'd killed a part of him there, but soon, he'd be back to finish the job.
Muttering an almost silent spell, a portal opened and Khivar fell through to his own world.
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Rath was the first up the hill. At first, he didn't see anything, but then he heard it. The gut wrenching sobs. Looking across he saw a body, much like his own, kneeling in front of something, back shaking with grief. The others came up beside him, all looking in the same direction he was.
"Oh my god," Isabel mumbled. "Max, do something."
Max slowly walked over to the rocking figure and put a hand on his shoulder. Michael didn't even acknowledge his presence.
"Michael..." Max didn't know what else to say.
Michael's head snapped up suddenly, as if he just noticed someone there.
"Max!" He grabbed Max's hand and pulled him down to his level. "Heal her. You can heal her, right? You have to." Michael stared into the eyes of his best friend. "Please."
Pulling the arrow out of her flesh, Max laid his hand on her chest and concentrated on repairing the hole, restarting her heart and reviving the dead. Slowly he released his power.
And nothing happened.
With a sigh, he opened his eyes, shaking his head at Michael. She was already dead.
"No. Nonono, you have to try harder, Max." Michael looked around frantically. "Zan? What about you? Rath? Anybody?"
Both Rath and Zan dropped to their knees and held their hands above her still body, not wanting to give Michael false hope, but not wanting to give up without trying. Still, nothing happened. Her chest remained still, and her eyes remained open, staring blankly at the sky above.
Shaking his head, Rath dropped his hand to his side. Looking at her expressionless face, he gently closed her eyes and put an arm around his brother.
"She's gone," he murmured. "Come on."
Michael looked around at the tear-stained faces of the rest of the group. One was gone, one that could never be replaced. Placing a soft kiss on her forehead, he gently eased her head onto the ground before abruptly standing up and charging down the hill. The gang spared a glance at each other before running after him. They found him about halfway down, standing over two bodies. He stared at Lonnie, eyes glowing red, face set in a scowl.
"Where is he?" he spat.
"I don't know," she said, snidely.
Michael cocked his head to one side, and she levitated at least a foot above the ground. She gasped as her feet dangled in the air.
"Where is he? Where would Khivar go?" he growled.
"I won't betray him. He will rule the planets, and he will kill you and the rest."
"Not a good time to be loyal, Lonnie," said Zan as he saw the glow in Michael's eyes grow brighter.
"Why? He won't kill me. He don't have it in 'im."
Michael squinted at her, then turned away. Lonnie smiled smugly at him, behind his back, only to frown as she felt a burning sensation that started in the pit of her stomach and spread to the rest of her body.
The Scooby gang watched in amazement as Lonnie's body started shaking uncontrollably. Lonnie screamed as her body exploded from the inside, pieces of flesh flying in every direction as her cells scattered into the night air.
Michael had already turned to Tess, red eyes glaring at her slight form. With a slight gesture of his head, her body lifted off the ground.
"Where is he?"
"I- I don't know."
He raised his hand, palm outstretched, as if he was going to blast her. Tess flinched closed her eyes in preparation for the blast. She cracked one eye open when the blast never came. He was still staring straight at her. When she opened her eyes to look back at him, he closed his hand a bit. Tess grabbed at her throat, gasping for breath as he pressed down on her oesophagus, cutting of her air supply.
"Mich-Michael, please," she pleaded.
"This is not Michael. There is no Michael. He died with Maria," he growled. "This is Deimon. Now, where is that bastard?"
"I'm sorry abo-about Maria."
He tightened his hands, his powers choking her more.
"Michael, it's me, Tess. Remember? We spent that summer together? I helped you with your." she gasped. "...with your powers?"
He ignored her. He put his hand on her stomach, then smirked. "No baby."
"Please, Michael.my son."
"Will be raised by his father and not a murdering bitch like you," he bellowed.
"P-p-please, d-don't," she begged, voice straining. For a while, all he did was stare at her. Then he dropped his hand, releasing the invisible pressure his powers had on her throat. Turning around, he stalked back up the hill as she dropped to the ground, gasping for breath.
"Tie her up," he called, to nobody in particular, as he left.
Rath waited a few minutes before following his brother up the hill. He found him once again cradling Maria's body in his lap, stroking her cheek tenderly.
"She's not coming back, is she?" he whispered, looking up at his brother, brown eyes filled with tears. Rath shook his head. Michael's head slumped in defeat as he sighed. He bent his head down and first kissed her forehead, then her eyes, her nose, then finally her lips. Rath looked on in amazement as a small light appeared at the point where their lips met. He watched as it slowly spread to engulf their bodies in its ethereal glow. The pair slowly levitated until they hovered ten feet above the ground, the light surrounding them getting brighter. Soon, Rath had to shield his eyes from the light. It started changing colour. From green, to blue, to purple, to red, to yellow, then finally a blinding white. By then the whole group had returned to the top of the hill and were all looking on at the couple. The couple started drifting back to the ground, as the light grew dimmer and dimmer, until it finally disappeared as they touched the ground.
Then something amazing happened.
Maria started kissing him back.
Michael's eyes snapped open as he felt her small hands caressing his face. Grinning wildly, he engulfed her into a hug. Hands running over her body, making sure she was real, that she was alive. His lips finding the pulse point in her neck, feeling the relieving thump of her heart beat.
"Maria," a voice cried in happiness. It was Amy Deluca-Valenti, tied up with the rest of the parents.
As one, Michael and Maria turned to her. Michael waved his hand in the general direction of the parents and the ropes, fell to the floor, releasing them from their prison. Amy ran over to her daughter as they opened their arms to her, welcoming her into their hug.
"How did that happen?" Liz asked in amazement.
"Don't question these things," Rath said, wisely, "Just be thankful that they happen."
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Whew! End of chapter 19. Damn, that was a hard rewrite. I would have half 'n halfed it, but, really, would you have wanted that? Anyway, the story's winding down as you can tell. I'm kinda getting tired of writing it. I have ideas, yeah, but no patience to write them, so here's the deal. You have three choices. I can either: End it next chapter with an epilogue-y type thing. You know, flash back to what happens next? Continue it for a couple of more chapters, just with a lot of fast- forwarding. Do a sequel. Hey, Khivar's still at large, and there's an unfulfilled prophecy. That's what sequels are made of, isn't it?
You decide. I'll do whatever you want me to. I am your willing slave.well, not really, but you know what I mean.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, all! I'm back. Finally. I'm glad you guys liked the Wedding. I really wasn't sure about that. Big hurdle. Weddings are new territory for me, so.yeah. Anyway, I wrote this chapter ages ago, but wouldn't you know, I lost most of it? I think the original was better, but.oh well, too bad. Tell me what you think, 'kay? I live for feedback.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The moon shone brightly in the sky, its cool yellow rays lighting up the desert sands. Below a pointed rock formation, a party raged on. Music wafted in the breeze as the people celebrated the marriage of two friends, the return of six friends and the addition of two others.
Near the base of the cliff in which the aliens were born, food was displayed on a table made of rock, thanks to a little Czech magic. Michael wrapped his arms around his love and stared out at the happy forms of his mingling friends. They were all relaxed, enjoying the night and ignoring its secrets.
"It's beautiful," she stated. Michael looked down at her. "We should cherish this moment."
He nodded. He felt it, too. The feeling that this would be the last time they were all together. A tiny sense of foreboding that kept dancing in the back of his brain. He tilted her head up and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
Suddenly, a white blast appeared above their heads, breaking pieces of rock from the outcrop and showering them with pebbles. All the dancing stopped, the happy faces dropped and the relaxed postures disintegrated.
"Well isn't this nice!" a voice yelled from above. Standing there, above their heads, stood a boy. His face was twisted in a sarcastic smile that served only to reveal his plan for attack. His cold eyes scanned the group. Some teenagers, some adults, some aliens, some monsters, some human, some supernatural. All a small threat.
"You didn't even invite me to your little party. I'm hurt, really." He bowed his head in mock offence. "So, Rath, you gonna steal his wife too?"
Everyone turned to Rath in astonishment. He was still glaring at Nicholas. They looked between the two in confusion. Nicholas smirked. Just the reaction he wanted.
"What? You didn't tell them what you did to me? How this is mostly your fault?"
"Rath?" Faith said, looking between him and the runt.
"I didn't steal her, Nikaid, she left on her own! It is not my fault!" he yelled.
"Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that. It might be true someday," he replied sarcastically. He looked around at everyone else. "Oh. All your little friends feel out of the loop. Don't worry, I'll give the whole story." Rath clenched his fists. "You see, kiddies, way back when, Uncle Nicholas had a girlfriend and he loved her very much." He stopped suddenly and pointed a gun at Faith. "Tell them what her name was!"
"Kaylanna," he ground out, glaring at the gloating boy.
"Very good. At least he remembers her name," he sneered, "Now, Nikaid was ready to propose to this girl. He could see the wedding in his head. His brother and sister would stand beside him as his future sister-in-law walked down the aisle with her best friend.who's that Rath? Want to fill in the faces?"
"Cortenia and I."
"My aren't we a good guesser."
"Who are these people, Rath?" asked Zan. Rath sighed. They didn't need to know this.
"Cortenia was my best friend on Antar.ever since we were thirteen," he said, "Her twin sister was Kaylanna. She had a raging crush on me."
"Bingo! Though you might know her as the ever defiant Courtney," Nicholas stated, "But that's beside the point. Can we all guess why Nikaid's, my, vision never materialised?"
"She was in love with Rath," Maria said.
"Ding ding! Give the girl a prize! Now! Can we guess the brother and sister? Hmm?" He looked at the blank faces. "Nobody?" he taunted. "Okay, well, some of you have already met my brother, Cazrileen. Riley for short." Riley stepped out from behind a rock, gun in hand.
"Hey, Buffy. Miss me?" he asked. "Faith."
"Fish boy," she sneered. There was a loud blast right near her feet and she jumped back.
"Do not speak to my brother like that."
They turned to find Fred with a gun trained on Faith.
Nicholas smirked. "My sister, Feraahna. Mindwarp is such a funny thing. You didn't even notice the smell," he said, gesturing to the vampires. "Pity."
Lonnie came up from behind Nicholas and smiled evilly at them.
"Hey lover. Still with that tramp, huh?" she sneered. Rath was seething. His hand started to glow red. "Say bye-bye 'cause dat ho is dead," she spat, pointing her gun at Faith and pulling the trigger in one fluid movement. On reflex, Faith raised her hand and deflected the beam. It hit Nicholas square in the chest. He flew back and hit the boulder, cracking it, before sliding to the ground.
Fred screeched and went to shoot Faith. Buffy spun around and kicked her in the head, making her drop the gun. Fred blocked a punch from Buffy and kicked her in the stomach. Then, she did a spin kick and sent Buffy flying. Fred put two fingers between her lips and whistled.
Suddenly, a whole army appeared on all sides of them. They were surrounded.
"Look familiar, Rath?" Riley taunted, "Ready to burn again?"
"You!" Rath growled.
"Yep. I lit the fire. It was fun to watch you burn, general. Love how you damned your people."
"Don't even bother to ask. Of course I started the whole evil witch thing," Fred said nonchalantly, "Really, we weren't expecting that, but it worked out for the best now didn't it?"
While they talked, the army began to close in on them. Maria looked left and right, counting the numbers. There were about a hundred soldiers. All armed with laser guns. Really, really bad odds.
'What are we going to do? They have guns and they outnumber us and they have powers. We're gonna die!'
'We won't die, Maria,' Michael reassured her.
'Do you have a plan? 'Course not. What am I saying? You're Michael, of course you don't have a plan!'
Michael grabbed Maria's hand and squeezed it. 'We brought weapons, remember?' Maria sighed and nodded her head. 'Okay, we'll slowly back to the table so they don't notice.'
Together, they inched towards the table. Maria pulled off the tablecloth to reveal a chest full of weapons. They threw it open and drew their swords.
"Old fashioned, isn't it, Rath?" a voice said from the cliff. They turned away from the army to the man that stood tall on the cliff. Serena gasped. "I want the Royal Four to hand themselves over."
"Never! Not without a fight!" Rath growled.
"Really?" Khivar said smugly. "Not even for mommy and daddy?" With that, he gestured behind him. Four soldiers appeared at his side, dragging a bound and gagged Jim and Amy Valenti, and Philip and Diane Evans. Rath and Michael growled under their breaths. Nobody touched their family.
"I knew that would get to you," Khivar stated. He grabbed the nearest human, who just happened to be Amy and pulled her against his body. He pulled out a knife and dragged the edge down her cheek. She was shaking in fear. The group tensed as a trickle of blood escaped her. Khivar removed her gag and then shoved her to her knees at the edge of the cliff. Jim Valenti struggled against his guard to get to his wife. Khivar turned and punched him in the gut. He then turned back to Amy and snapped her head back by her dark brown locks.
"Such a pretty face," her murmured. His tongue snaked out of his mouth as he traced the thin line of blood with the tip. "I want the Royal four. All of them. You will be executed and the throne will be entirely mine. Antar will have no hope."
"You're crazy!" Amy shouted at him. He slapped her in the face.
"Quiet wench!" he screamed, "You know, I knew a woman like you. Mouth too big for her body. I got rid of her and her little weasel son, too. I should do just the same to you." He ran his hand down her body. "After I have a little fun, of course." He turned her head towards Valenti. "Maybe in front of old Jimmy here." He twisted her head toward Maria. "Or maybe your daughter would like a show." Maria's fists clenched at her sides. "That'll be for later, though." He flung her back and glared at them once more. "Well? Your parents or yourselves?"
"Can you make a shield?" Michael asked Willow, still staring up at Khivar.
"Yeah."
In response, Michael took quick aim and fired an energy blast at Khivar. He put up a bright green shield much like Max's. Khivar scowled.
"Very well." Khivar made eye contact with the head of his army. The soldier nodded and the army began to fire at will. Willow quickly raised her hands, eyes turning black, and the air rippled around them. The laser beams bounced off of Willow's invisible shield, taking out the entire front line. The soldiers moved back before firing again. The lasers had no effect. After a while the army stopped shooting, stumped. One of the braver men walked forwards and touched the air in front of the group. It was solid. He looked up at his leader.
"Sire?"
Khivar growled in frustrated. "Keep shooting. They have to weaken sometime."
The army resumed firing at the invisible wall.
Maria looked up as she heard a scream from the top of the cliff. She would never figure out how she heard it above all the gunfire. She ran over to Willow.
"You have to make an opening. Let me out," she said, hurriedly.
"Are you crazy? You'll get killed!" cried Dawn, who was standing nearby.
"I have to! It's my mom up there. I can't let anything happen to her. Especially not by Khivar."
"Well, pretty soon you won't have to worry about that," Willow panted, sweat dripping down her face. Just then, there was a cry of pain as Wesley got shot in the leg.
"Okay, Maxwell, go heal Wesley and for Christ sake stay in the middle of the group. Khivar can't get to you, it's all over if he does," Michael ordered. "That goes for you too, Zan. Go lend Willow some energy or something." The two Antarian kings nodded and went off to do their jobs. Zan put his hands on Willow's shoulder and concentrated on transferring his energy into her. The air around them rippled as the shield strengthened.
"We can't just stand here all night." Rath exclaimed. "Willow, can we shoot them from the inside?
"I.I don't know," she said, "Try it."
Rath raised his hand and pointed it at the army outside. He released his energy on them, bracing himself for a possible backfire. Four soldiers exploded into a pile of dust. Seeing results, all the other aliens joined in.
"Guys! I can't hold it anymore!" Willow cried seconds before the shield collapsed.
As if in a trance, Alex, Isabel, Rath and Faith raised their hands, palm-to- palm, and stared straight ahead. The air around them swirled in a thick white cloud until it finally settled as a solid white bubble. The protectors levitated to the top of the bubble as it solidified. Suddenly, their heads snapped up in unison and, with a shriek, a red beam of light shot out of their heads.
Outside, Khivar's army stared in shock as a red light seeped out of the circle, spreading across the desert air. The light melted their guns as it passed, expanding to about a half-mile radius, before being sucked back into the bubble.
Slowly, the protectors drifted to the ground, coming out of their joint trance. The shield slowly disintegrated.
"Whoa," Kyle said, picking up an axe. "Let's do this."
The gang quickly picked their jaws up from the ground and grabbed their swords, and thus, the war began.
******************************** ******************************
Oz fought viciously, protecting his girlfriend with all he had. He was a bit rusty, but once he got into it, it was like old times with the Scooby gang, battling in the cemeteries of Sunnydale.
"Serena, snap out of it!" he exclaimed. She was still staring at the cliff blankly, her mouth hanging open. She didn't seem to even notice the fighting around her, or the number of soldiers that had tried to attack her. She was still living in the shock. Khivar was.
"Serena!" Oz's voice pulled her out of her trance. "Take this." He handed her his sword. She stared at it, confused.
"Huh? Wait! Danny! What will you use?" She got her answer when a thick layer of fur covered his body and he dropped down on all fours, a growling ball of teeth. She watched in horror as he pounced on the nearest group of soldiers, ripping them nearly to shreds. Oz had left the building. She spun around and sliced the head off the big man that tried to sneak up on her. No time to think about it now. Fight.
Spike did his best to defend himself, leading the soldiers to people who could actually fight back. He growled as he got kicked in the balls. That was it. He lashed out, changing into his game face, snatching a weapon off somebody and slicing off that bastard's head. He braced himself for a wave of pain that never came.
"Hold on." He punched somebody in the face. "I can hit these." He put the man out of his misery and sliced him down the middle. He exploded in a cloud of dust. "The Big Bad is back!"
The stronger fighters fought alone or in pairs, while the weaker set stayed together in groups of three or four. Connor fought with Angel for a while, their natural father/son synchronisation coming in to play.well, natural to them, anyway. It was probably a vampire thing. They knew each other's moves and fought accordingly, together forming an unstoppable duo. A team that Angel had always pictured when he thought of his son. There was never any sense in pretending that he could keep Connor away from violence. It was in his blood and he'd accepted that, even since he was a baby. The fight was getting harder. Some of the soldiers had started converting their melted guns into swords with their powers, and the rest were following suit. It took away their slight advantage. But still, the gang was more practiced than they were, having always depended on archaic weapons. The army was gun- spoiled and unaccustomed to hand-to-hand combat. That was their Achilles heel and the gang was not afraid to use it.
Maria armed herself with a crossbow and ran up the side of the cliff, killing any soldiers that stood guard. As she neared the top, she slowed down. Being as quiet as she could, she watched.
"Impertinent brats!" Khivar yelled. His hand shot out, blasting a rock into minute grains of sand. He walked over to Amy and yanked her up by the hair. "You! These are yours! I'll make you watch as I kill them."
"They're not all mine."
"I don't care! You'll all watch. I'll tear your little Maria apart limb by limb, cell by cell, and make sure she feels every minute of it. I think I'll tape it, too. Should make for a good movie," he said coldly, "Think the commander will enjoy it?" He looked over to the Evanses. "And Zan.I have special plans for him. The both of them. And don't worry. You won't miss out on the show."
Maria watched in disgust as he rambled on. Staring straight at his heart, she raised her cross bow. Aimed.
Then all went black.
****************************** *******************************
Maria groaned in pain as she slowly regained consciousness. It was dark. She opened her eyes, but quickly shut them as the light penetrated them, making her headache worse. She tried to rub her head, but nothing happened. She couldn't move. Her hands were tied around a pole behind her back. She could hear voices. Khivar. Braving the pain, she slowly opened her eyes. All she could see was blurred figures. A brown one was walking around, blurry sticks, that she figured were his arms, flailing around. The blur suddenly stopped. She closed her eyes, pretending to still be unconscious.
"It wakes," the voice sneered in a low voice. It sounded like it was right in front of her face. She opened her eyes, blinking to clear her vision. "Have a nice nap?" She could finally see him.and he was smiling. The coldness of his piercing, grey eyes took away any notions of it being friendly. "How nice of you to join us." He pulled out her crossbow, making a big show of examining it. "Nice weapon. Bit archaic but." He shrugged, and then trained it on her. "I take it you're here to hand over the Royal Four."
"Never!"
"It doesn't matter. My army will defeat your little group and bring them back to me."
"Your army is already defeated."
Khivar scowled at her, then walked over to the edge of the cliff. She was right. The small group of twenty something was making good headway through his army of a hundred with practically no casualties. Half of his army was already dead. He growled in anger.
********************************** ******************************
Michael suddenly stopped fighting as he felt something through his connection with Maria. It was.love. She was sending all her love to him in waves, as if this would be the last time she sent it. It felt like she was saying a goodbye. A soldier took advantage of his distraction by pilfering his sword and pouncing. To his surprise, the sword stopped midair. He didn't have time to think about it before he exploded into a cloud of dust.
********************************* ********************************
"It's over, Khivar. Or is it Kyden?" Maria taunted. She smiled at the shocked look on his face. Just the reaction she was looking for. "We know who you really are, Khivar, a bitter, pathetic little boy who was passed over for the throne by his big sister. You couldn't handle that, could you? The fact that she was better than you?"
"Silence!"
Maria went on as if he hadn't said anything. "No. They should have seen that she was incompetent and dethroned her, giving you control of the whole planet. But you accepted it for a while. All you would have to do is wait until you're old enough to be able to rule without an advisor and then you could kill her off and take over." Khivar was fuming. The crossbow in his hands shook as rage coursed through his veins. Maria hid a smile. She was getting to him. Good. "But that plan got tossed out the window when Deimon was born. Even if you killed her, that little baby would bypass you and take over the throne, and you would still have nothing, not to mention that if you killed the both of them as Kyden, the public wouldn't accept you. So you created your alter ego, Khivar. Am getting close?"
******************************* *****************************
Michael sprinted towards the cliff, flinging soldiers aside left and right as he passed. He was halfway up the cliff when his path was blocked by two people he never thought he'd ever see again, Tess and Lonnie.
"Move," he growled.
"Aw, is that anyway to treat your sister?" Tess said.
"You're not my sister. You were never my sister."
"Yeah, well, not technically, but we were close, right? Remember that summer when we worked on your powers?"
"Old news, now move."
"You can't win," Lonnie said. "Khivar is the rightful."
Lonnie was cut off as both she and Tess were flung to the side and Michael continued his sprint to the top of the cliff.
******************************* *******************************
"How do you think your faction will react when they find out that their leader is nothing but a snivelling, whiny, spoiled royal brat, jealous of his big sister and nephew?"
"It doesn't matter now, they're dead, have been for years. I'm the last in the royal line. The throne of Carnath is rightfully mine no matter what you tell them. Antar is just icing on the cake. I don't even need that pathetic waste of planet space, I only want the granolith."
"You have it! Tess handed it to you on a silver platter."
"Yeah, well. This is more fun."
"You know, he's still alive." Khivar raised an eyebrow at her. "Deimon. He's still alive."
"You lie! He's dead!"
"He's not. His ship crashed on Antar. The Queen adopted him. You might know him better as Rath."
"You lie!" Khivar growled.
"I do not!"
Khivar's hands started to glow a bright red as his fists clenched with rage. He raised his hands, levitating Maria high above his head. Without a word, he raised her crossbow and shot her in the heart. He cackled as her petit form hung lifelessly in the dead air. Suddenly, he felt his body slam into a boulder, and the sickening crack of his bones colliding with the hard rock.
Michael watched as his love dropped from fifty feet in the air, a sickening thump resounding through the air as her dead body crashed to the ground.
"NOOOO!!!!"
Not giving Khivar a second thought, Michael ran over to Maria. "You're fine.you're not dead.just resting." he muttered, tears coursing down his cheeks as he shakily undid the ropes that bound her to the pole. "Maria?" He shook her gently. No response. "Maria?" Cradling her head in his lap, he rocked back and forth, calling her name in broken sobs.
********************************* ******************************
Arching his sword through the air, Rath sliced the head off the final soldier. Looking around, he saw everyone hunched over, panting in exhaustion. Serena was bent over a creature that he could only assume was Oz, running her hands through a thick layer of fur. It was surprising that a werewolf that he had seen rip at least twenty soldiers into tiny pieces, could be rubbing up on the small brunette, practically purring like a cat. He'd always thought werewolves were dog creatures.
This was by far the worst battle they'd ever fought and the victory was sweet.wait, the group looked smaller than usual.
That's when they heard it: an animalistic scream, heavy in pain and grief, coming from the cliff. The Scooby Gang looked at each other before breaking out into a sprint in the direction of the cry. They leaped over dead soldier bodies and fallen weapons, and ran straight past the unconscious bodies of Lonnie and Tess.
****************************** **************************** "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
Khivar groaned as the screeching sound reached the ears of his battered body. Looking over at the hybrid body of Rath, of Michael, shaking with sobs and cradling the human's head in his lap, he smiled. He may not have won yet, but he still left an impression. Deimon. His nephew. His sister's son. That whiny snivelling brat was always a thorn in his side. He'd killed a part of him there, but soon, he'd be back to finish the job.
Muttering an almost silent spell, a portal opened and Khivar fell through to his own world.
****************************** ****************************
Rath was the first up the hill. At first, he didn't see anything, but then he heard it. The gut wrenching sobs. Looking across he saw a body, much like his own, kneeling in front of something, back shaking with grief. The others came up beside him, all looking in the same direction he was.
"Oh my god," Isabel mumbled. "Max, do something."
Max slowly walked over to the rocking figure and put a hand on his shoulder. Michael didn't even acknowledge his presence.
"Michael..." Max didn't know what else to say.
Michael's head snapped up suddenly, as if he just noticed someone there.
"Max!" He grabbed Max's hand and pulled him down to his level. "Heal her. You can heal her, right? You have to." Michael stared into the eyes of his best friend. "Please."
Pulling the arrow out of her flesh, Max laid his hand on her chest and concentrated on repairing the hole, restarting her heart and reviving the dead. Slowly he released his power.
And nothing happened.
With a sigh, he opened his eyes, shaking his head at Michael. She was already dead.
"No. Nonono, you have to try harder, Max." Michael looked around frantically. "Zan? What about you? Rath? Anybody?"
Both Rath and Zan dropped to their knees and held their hands above her still body, not wanting to give Michael false hope, but not wanting to give up without trying. Still, nothing happened. Her chest remained still, and her eyes remained open, staring blankly at the sky above.
Shaking his head, Rath dropped his hand to his side. Looking at her expressionless face, he gently closed her eyes and put an arm around his brother.
"She's gone," he murmured. "Come on."
Michael looked around at the tear-stained faces of the rest of the group. One was gone, one that could never be replaced. Placing a soft kiss on her forehead, he gently eased her head onto the ground before abruptly standing up and charging down the hill. The gang spared a glance at each other before running after him. They found him about halfway down, standing over two bodies. He stared at Lonnie, eyes glowing red, face set in a scowl.
"Where is he?" he spat.
"I don't know," she said, snidely.
Michael cocked his head to one side, and she levitated at least a foot above the ground. She gasped as her feet dangled in the air.
"Where is he? Where would Khivar go?" he growled.
"I won't betray him. He will rule the planets, and he will kill you and the rest."
"Not a good time to be loyal, Lonnie," said Zan as he saw the glow in Michael's eyes grow brighter.
"Why? He won't kill me. He don't have it in 'im."
Michael squinted at her, then turned away. Lonnie smiled smugly at him, behind his back, only to frown as she felt a burning sensation that started in the pit of her stomach and spread to the rest of her body.
The Scooby gang watched in amazement as Lonnie's body started shaking uncontrollably. Lonnie screamed as her body exploded from the inside, pieces of flesh flying in every direction as her cells scattered into the night air.
Michael had already turned to Tess, red eyes glaring at her slight form. With a slight gesture of his head, her body lifted off the ground.
"Where is he?"
"I- I don't know."
He raised his hand, palm outstretched, as if he was going to blast her. Tess flinched closed her eyes in preparation for the blast. She cracked one eye open when the blast never came. He was still staring straight at her. When she opened her eyes to look back at him, he closed his hand a bit. Tess grabbed at her throat, gasping for breath as he pressed down on her oesophagus, cutting of her air supply.
"Mich-Michael, please," she pleaded.
"This is not Michael. There is no Michael. He died with Maria," he growled. "This is Deimon. Now, where is that bastard?"
"I'm sorry abo-about Maria."
He tightened his hands, his powers choking her more.
"Michael, it's me, Tess. Remember? We spent that summer together? I helped you with your." she gasped. "...with your powers?"
He ignored her. He put his hand on her stomach, then smirked. "No baby."
"Please, Michael.my son."
"Will be raised by his father and not a murdering bitch like you," he bellowed.
"P-p-please, d-don't," she begged, voice straining. For a while, all he did was stare at her. Then he dropped his hand, releasing the invisible pressure his powers had on her throat. Turning around, he stalked back up the hill as she dropped to the ground, gasping for breath.
"Tie her up," he called, to nobody in particular, as he left.
Rath waited a few minutes before following his brother up the hill. He found him once again cradling Maria's body in his lap, stroking her cheek tenderly.
"She's not coming back, is she?" he whispered, looking up at his brother, brown eyes filled with tears. Rath shook his head. Michael's head slumped in defeat as he sighed. He bent his head down and first kissed her forehead, then her eyes, her nose, then finally her lips. Rath looked on in amazement as a small light appeared at the point where their lips met. He watched as it slowly spread to engulf their bodies in its ethereal glow. The pair slowly levitated until they hovered ten feet above the ground, the light surrounding them getting brighter. Soon, Rath had to shield his eyes from the light. It started changing colour. From green, to blue, to purple, to red, to yellow, then finally a blinding white. By then the whole group had returned to the top of the hill and were all looking on at the couple. The couple started drifting back to the ground, as the light grew dimmer and dimmer, until it finally disappeared as they touched the ground.
Then something amazing happened.
Maria started kissing him back.
Michael's eyes snapped open as he felt her small hands caressing his face. Grinning wildly, he engulfed her into a hug. Hands running over her body, making sure she was real, that she was alive. His lips finding the pulse point in her neck, feeling the relieving thump of her heart beat.
"Maria," a voice cried in happiness. It was Amy Deluca-Valenti, tied up with the rest of the parents.
As one, Michael and Maria turned to her. Michael waved his hand in the general direction of the parents and the ropes, fell to the floor, releasing them from their prison. Amy ran over to her daughter as they opened their arms to her, welcoming her into their hug.
"How did that happen?" Liz asked in amazement.
"Don't question these things," Rath said, wisely, "Just be thankful that they happen."
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Whew! End of chapter 19. Damn, that was a hard rewrite. I would have half 'n halfed it, but, really, would you have wanted that? Anyway, the story's winding down as you can tell. I'm kinda getting tired of writing it. I have ideas, yeah, but no patience to write them, so here's the deal. You have three choices. I can either: End it next chapter with an epilogue-y type thing. You know, flash back to what happens next? Continue it for a couple of more chapters, just with a lot of fast- forwarding. Do a sequel. Hey, Khivar's still at large, and there's an unfulfilled prophecy. That's what sequels are made of, isn't it?
You decide. I'll do whatever you want me to. I am your willing slave.well, not really, but you know what I mean.
